What is Dog Gone Blog?

Dog Gone Blog is a blog for real dogs (if they could read and had the inclination and opposable thumbs to work a mouse) and the people who love them written by a professional dog trainer and owner of two labrador retrievers. Dog related product reviews, training tips, reader's photos, a healthy dose of opinion and merriment ensues.
We hope you will Sit, Stay and Speak. Enjoy!

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All requests for reviews should be sent to Dog Gone Blog [at] yahoo [dot] com.

Watch out! I bite.

September 30, 2006

Is the sound of your dear pooch's tags banging together driving you batty? Is all the clanging keeping your baby awake (oh, the horror!)? Silence those tags once and for all with the Quiet Spot Pet Tag Silencer.

The Pet Tag Silencer (catchy name, no?) is a little pouch that you slip over your dog's tags. Made of weatherproof Neoprene they come "in fashionable colors, and [are] designed to be left on your dog year-round, 24-7. And there are no snaps to rust, unlike some of the 'collar wallets' currently on the market." (from the ItzaDog/Quiet Spot site)

My friend, C., found that her infant son found the shiny tags on their weimaraner's collar fascinating and tried to grab at them every chance he could. After putting a Silencer over the tags, the baby left the dog's collar alone. That dog wore his silencer pouch over his tags at doggie daycare, in the pool and lake, he even slept with it on, and the pouch never came off. And the purple color looked smashing against his beautiful silver fur. What's not to love?

Tough, durable, good looking and keeps your house a little quieter. Lana and Fisher give the Quiet Spot Pet Tag Silencer their paw of approval.

September 28, 2006

If you think I'm referring to an extra large ape with a taste for blondes you are way off base. I'm talking about the Kong line of dog chew toys. This wonderful toy, recommended by veterinarians and dog professionals, was developed in 1976 by a man who was desperate to get his German Shepherd to stop chewing rocks. Yes, rocks. While working on his Volkswagen van the man pulled off various car parts and threw them to his dog, Fritz, trying to get the dog interested in something beside the tasty rocks. Fritz found a suspension part particularly fun, and so the Kong was born.

Does any of this matter to you? Nah, probably not, but I love a good story. What you should be interested in is the durability of the classic Kong. These toys are virtually indestructible - perfect if you have a puppy who likes to chew, on everything, or a dog with strong jaws - and they bounce around erratically when you toss them. Fun for the whole family. And the best part of the Kong? You can stuff them with tasty foods for your dogs to try to get out. This works great for a dog with separation anxiety or if you're training a puppy to love his crate. Leave the dog with a Kong stuffed with tasty treats before you leave and soon your dog will be pushing you out the door.

I can tell you this from experience because this tactic worked great for my rescued dog Lana. Before the Kong she would ram her crate from the inside eventually pushing it across the room with the force from her head. No wonder she was so pissy, she always had a horrible headache. I started giving her stuffed Kongs and though she wasn't thrilled to see me go she eventually saw my leaving as a good chance to get something yummy. And she didn't have to lie down in a dark room with a cloth over her eyes to wait for her migraine to go away.

These Kong things sound great, Dog Lady, but what do I stuff my dog's Kong with? I'm glad you asked.

I like to pack a handful of my dogs' kibble into it first and then stuff the opening with a decent amount of peanut butter finishing it off with a piece of dog cookie stuffed into the peanut butter. The dogs get a quick payoff from the cookie, then they get to lick out all the peanut butter and then they get the crunch at the end with the kibble. If you're worried about your dog's weight you can stuff the Kong with canned pumpkin or pureed meat baby food and then freeze it. You can fill the toy with cut up carrots and cover the opening with cream cheese.

Want more recipe ideas? Try the Kong's website (look under "Tips and Advice/Kong recipes") or one of these handy links below. Your dog will thank you.

September 26, 2006

It happens at the beginning of every new class, with every new crop
of students. I can see it in their eyes, the way they hungrily look at
my dog Fisher. I follow their gaze as they watch him walk around the
room going from person to person, sitting in front of them, meeting
their eyes. His body in a perfect sit, his eyes alert and ears cocked
forward.

"Oh, he's such a good dog. Here, have a piece of hot dog."

Of course, this was after I told them, repeatedly, not to feed
Fisher. I want him working for me, not working the crowd for tasty
snacks. Before the words can come out of my mouth, Fisher has moved on
to another person who is also sneaking him treats.

"I wish my dog could be so obedient," they say.

Yeah, that's not obedience, that's extortion. Give me a treat or
I'll take away my cuteness. It's the oldest trick in the book. But I
digress.

The students in my classes love Fisher and, really, what's not to
love? He lays at my feet during our first class together with a new
group, or sits in his crate and whines to join the action during
training time. To my students, Fisher is the perfect dog.

Ha! Perfect. I snort at this.

What they don't see is the years of training I've put into him.
I've taken him to puppy class, basic, intermediate, novice, agility,
and therapy dog. When we finished a lot of these classes we started
all over again to keep ourselves sharp (yes, both of us. Training
takes two.). They don't see the months of puppy biting, his refusal to
do his business anywhere else but his own backyard until he can't hold
it any longer and ends up eliminating in the worst place. Like my
In-Laws dining room rug. His first year spent throwing up during every
car ride. They don't see his habit of stealing socks when I'm not
looking. The counter surfing. I could go on, but I won't. It's too depressing to think
about and yet it's exhaulting to realize that we've gotten past most of
that successfully.

Unfortunately, new dog owners have what I call (and I'm sure this
isn't a unique title) The Lassie Complex. They have a very romantic
vision of the puppy they've just brought home. They've seen movies of
dogs rescuing their owners from certain death, read books about the
bond between dog and owner, or viewed pictures of friend's dogs in the
clutches of their young children. The dog in the picture, of course,
is lying there complacently, happily resigned to his place in this new pack. But those stories are often either
invented or rare cases and the pictures are but snapshots, a second in
time, an instant in the overall insanity of life. Oftentimes the owner
brings their dog to me, looks at my dog, and says as he or she points to Fisher, "I want Muffin to be
like him."

Oh, and did I mention that they expect little Muffin will be
perfectly trained in 8 weeks? Imagine their shock when I tell them
that every dog is different, every owner is different and, regardless of those facts, training a
dog continues for the dog's entire life.

This, of course, is a generalization. Not every new dog owner is
like this. Some have very realistic expectations of their dogs and
they approach every class with a purpose: I need to train this dog
because he sure didn't come trained. Those are the ones that will
succeed. The ones who want their dog to save their children from the
well, those are the ones that struggle.

I want all new dog owners to view their dogs as lumps of clay, raw
and unshaped and, well, messy. And I want them to approach training as
they would if they were trying to take that raw clay and mold it into a
vase. You'll only succeed if you work really hard at it. It won't
happen the first few tries and a lot of messes will happen along the
way. You'll screw up and have to start over again at the beginning.
But if you have the right foundation and you've taken classes,
consulted with teachers, and done your homework - both before and
during - you'll soon have something that will be the envy of your
friends. And the more you practice, the better the result.

If we're continuing with this pottery metaphor perhaps one day if you, the dog owner, work really hard with your dog you might just be able to mold them into something that resembles, in the right light, a dog like Lassie.

September 24, 2006

Don't you wish you could be this happy? There's a lesson to be learned in here somewhere and I'm pretty sure it's not "watch out for grass stains".

This adorable dog is Goldie, an 11 year old (but very young at heart) greyhound/lab mix. Goldie resides in California with her owner SueBob. Either it's the California sunshine or Goldie's love for Red Staplers (or maybe it's all those great links on SueBob's other blog, Linkateria) that makes Goldie spontaneously break out in some mad breakdancing moves (I wonder if she can pop and lock?). But whatever the reason she's made me feel the need to go roll down a grassy hill or maybe rub my back up against a tree.

Let's hear it for Goldie! Woof!

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Want to get your dog's picture on Dog Gone Blog? Email it to DogGoneBlog@yahoo.com. Please make sure you include your dog's name, breed (or breeds), your name or nickname, your state and country, and if necessary a brief description of what's going on in the picture.

September 23, 2006

I'm sorry, but your everyday family pets do not break out of a heavily fenced yard and as a pack bring down a 29 inch horse. A horse, people! Like this one:

It's not the breed of the dogs that bothers me (The article above said they were both pitbulls, but others I've read said one was a pitbull and one was a mastiff.). I know that those types of dogs can live happy, non-aggressive lives with families if raised correctly. Let me stress that again, If Raised Correctly. But these particular dogs had escaped from their home before with no incident and this time they killed a good sized animal.

To put the size of the horse versus the size of the dogs into perspective, the horse was 29 inches high or about 2 1/2 feet. I believe horses, like dogs, are measured at the withers, or the highest point of the animals back. My male labrador, Fisher, is roughly 25 inches high. Male mastiffs, at a minimum to be eligible for the confirmation ring, are 30 inches. Therefore, the largest of the two dogs was a probably a few inches taller than the horse. The other dog was probably a good four inches shorter.

My point? It was a small horse but still a decently sized animal. That takes some strength and tenacity on the dogs part.

I'm sure Joey Porter had purchased these dogs for protection, although he said he kept these dogs as pets not for security. I'm just
wondering where the line of guard dog vs. family pet was drawn in that
house. Porter has four kids.
Were the dogs a part of that family? Given the names of the dogs -
Tina and Nemo. Hello! Nemo?! I don't suppose the dog was named after this guy - I'm assuming they had some contact
with the kids. Which leads me back to my first point: What type of
dogs were these that broke free from their restraints (a fenced in yard), crossed property lines, and attacked a group of
miniature horses? And killed one? What if it were a group of children running and playing? Would the dogs have known the difference in their frenzy?

I am not breed biased and I wish that society didn't have to have lists of "dangerous dogs" but instead a ban on irresponsible owners. Unfortunately, in the hands of the wrong people there are certain breeds of dogs that will do more harm than others. For instance, an American Staffordshire Terrier (commonly known as a pit bull, or a bully breed) who comes from inbred parents of questionable nature and then receives no training is more likely to cause more harm than a Clumber Spaniel with a similar background. I have a problem with people who buy and raise these dogs around others with little thought about what could happen if these animals suddenly snapped. Today a horse, tomorrow the mailman. Or a kid.

Because the dogs killed livestock a judge will have to determine if they're "dangerous" or not and then what will happen to them. For now, they're going back to California (Porter's other home) to be kenneled for "safe keeping".

And Porter? He'll get slapped with some fines for housing dangerous animals and failure to confine his dogs. He'll get another fine for not having them licensed in Pennsylvania (they were licensed in California). A slap on the wrist for a man who plays in the NFL. But lucky for him the dogs didn't hurt a person because the penalty might have been much higher. Is there a law that will stop him in the future from ever purchasing and raising another dog? Not to my knowledge. For as safe as he was with these dogs he may as well have kept a loaded gun in his home and given his children the keys to the gun safe.

September 21, 2006

Now, how to sum up Dog Gone Blog in one post. Hmmm. Yeah, it's not possible. Dog Gone Blog is going to be many things: part product review site, a smattering of training tips, photos from our readers, bits of my opinions... Okay, who am I kidding? Most of it is going to my opinions because I have many opinions about the dog world. And you should too. If you're a dog owner it's only right that you have an opinion on how your dog should be cared for. How would you like to share those opinions with others?

I'd like to hear from you. The beautiful thing about dogs is how they get us to come out of our safe places and force us to become part of the community. This may be my blog, but I'd like it to be a community-making endeavor. Along with product, book, and all-good-things-for-dogs reviews I'd like to hear what you'd like to read about. Need some advice about little Maggie's piddling problem? Drop me an email at DogGoneBlog at yahoo dot com and not only will I give you my take on it but, hopefully, others will share what worked for them.*

How about a particularly funny or oh-so-cute picture of your pooch? Don't you want to share that with people who will appreciate it for the beauty it is and give your cubicle-mates a rest from having to look at another picture of your dog? Email me that picture and I'll post it here for true dog lovers to enjoy (DogGoneBlog@yahoo.com). You know, the type of dog owners that will only slightly roll their eyes when you refer to little Pugsly as "your darling baby boy".

I hope you enjoy this work in progress. Next time you visit, don't forget to bring some cookies for everyone to share.

*(These are, of course, my opinions and the opinions of others and
should in no way take the place of the advice from a veterinarian, dog
trainer, or animal behaviorist that you would normally hire to help
you. Blah, blah, blahdee, blah. You knew that, right? Yeah.)